Law enforcement officers take to the track! Five-O at the Dirty-O inaugural race to benefit Special Olympics

Time to find out who is the fastest cop around! More than 10 law enforcement agencies have been working the night shifts for several months transforming retired squad cars into race-ready machines. Officers will trade their badges for helmets and compete on the 3/8 mile oval track for ultimate bragging rights and the award of Top Cop. This isn't demolition derby, but you can bet the PIT Maneuver will be on display in full force.

Each team is required to raise a minimum $500 donation that goes directly to Special Olympics Illinois. As of July 12, the teams have combined for an incredible total of over $25,000 in donations!! Contributions are still welcome especially for the officers that need to reach the $500 threshold before next weekend! Click here to support Special Olympics and your local squad!

Besides these five cars, high-powered cruisers from Lockport, Chicago, Midlothian, Oak Forest, Oswego, Posen and Burham are all scheduled to race!

Fans of all ages can turn money into mayhem! Make a donation to Special Olympics and you get to sledgehammer a junk car at the "Smash A Squad" interactive smashing station.

Vehicle show and Smash A Squad take place right at the main grandstand entrance from 4:00- 6:30pm.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run is the single largest year-round fundraising vehicle benefiting Special Olympics Illinois. The annual intrastate relay and its various fundraising projects have two goals: to raise money and to gain awareness for the athletes who participate in Special Olympics Illinois. Learn more about Special Olympics Illinois, volunteer, or providing financial support to help make Special Olympics programs possible by contacting your local Special Olympics agency at 800-394-0562 or visit soill.org

World of Outlaws Late Models main event added to Chi-town Showdown Oct. 13th

A perfect night on Tuesday, June 27 for the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Cars was followed by a rain hampered Wednesday that forced the postponement of the Late Models feature race until the Outlaws return on October 13th.

All tickets from June 28th will be honored on that day! Contact the Dirt Oval 66 ticket office with any questions 815-740-8000 | info@dirtoval66.com

THANK YOU to the thousands of fans whom supported the return of the World of Outlaws to the Dirt Oval at Route 66 Raceway! Keep checking DirtOval66.com for Chi-town Showdown ticket and event details.

Mean Green Machine gets revenge in the rematch, WINS Round 2 Event

Full Round 2 Event Results:

Veteran driver Nick Hartung surprisingly returned to the Team Demo ranks and joined War Machine with his familiar #71 from Thunderstruck in 2016. War Machine's opening race opponents, Bandits, were not intimidated and immediately went on the attack. #55 Niko Rangel and first-time driver #54 Scott Blankenship, Jr dealt heavy blows to put War Machine on the ropes. #52 Rob Gibson withstood several shots and appeared to have the race secured. With the checkered flag in sight, the car quit in Turn 4! Mechanical gremlins struck again to sink another team in the first race. #76 Mike Newenhouse was able to re-fire and calmly collect the remaining laps to snatch away the win.

After his dominant destruction at Round 1, #69 Levi Turnbaugh was the primary target for Full Throttle. Turnbaugh and #67 Elmer Fandrey boxed in #43 Shaun Elder as soon as the race began leaving Full Throttle without a runner. #47 Steve Vollbrecht smashed straight up and through Turnbaugh’s trunk, folding the deck lid up to the roof line. Elder broke free and scored another shot, ramping over the rear axle of Turnbaugh’s car. Elder went for a knockout shot on #63 Ryan Lagestee in Turn 4 and careened off Lagestee and into the concrete, rocking up on two wheels! Orange Crush pounded on birthday boy #49 Pete Millette, Jr. and sealed their spot in the Semi-Finals.

Another veteran driver jumped aboard for Junkyard Dogs against Mean Green Machine. #38 Kyle Shearer, a JYD mainstay for numerous years, wanted to release some anger and did so very quickly with a hard T-bone shot on #11 Andrew Sherman. Unfortunately, the concrete wall latched onto Shearer’s bumper and his anger would only rise as he remained stuck there for the rest of the race. #37 Morgan Breeding and #39 Drew Hall mauled Sherman with a one-two punch on the front stretch, eliminating a portion of the threat

JYD looked poised for a monumental upset especially when Hall tore across the infield and obliterated the rear end of #14 Jay Van Allen. The wicked impact threw Van Allen face first into the headliner before snapping forward over the steering wheel. Both cars were wiped out which left a 2-on-2 match-up. #17 Pete Ryan had avoided heavy damage early on and systematically smashed the remaining JYD to cars put Mean Green into the next round.

Chicago Hitmen and Crazy 8s both needed a rebound after early exits last month. Hitmen hit first as #24 James Berry blasted #88 Dustin Wilson in between Turns 1 and 2. Pile ups ensued and Hitmen couldn’t capitalize with laps. #81 Steven Scarbro, Jr grabbed the lead as the damage escalated around him. #2 Anthony Hansford dealt a monster shot on Dustin then crossed-tracked #87 Matt Wilson to complete the brotherly beat down. 6 of the 8 cars were entangled late in the race and a countdown win for Crazy 8s seemed all but certain.

Among the chaos, #82 Larry Younghusband accidentally hit and ultimately freed #29 Dave Janjanin from the gridlock. The dark maroon factory color of Janjanin’s car, rather than the typical all-white for the Hitmen, led to the confusion. Crazy 8s were dismantled, distraught and could only sit idle while Janjanin took the lead and ultimately a countdown win when his car fizzled before five laps.

Orange Crush tried to make quick work of War Machine in the Semi-Finals, but the slick racing surface was tough to tame for both teams. Crush’s mighty motors have no equal on the straight away, but the turns were their undoing. Numerous spin outs and clawing for traction gave War Machine opportunities to catch up and take shots. Hartung smashed Turnbaugh up against the wall, but had to abandon the race after the next collision with Lagestee put his car in flames!

The Turn 3 boundary tire was shoved towards the wall leaving a narrower gap than usual. Failing to go around a tire is an incomplete lap. Both #66 Ron Tyrakowski and #7 Brian VanDyke skipped Turn 3 multiple times which left the race at a stalemate and sidelines up in arms. Engine temps continued to rise and all OC cars were cooked or wrecked except for Lagestee running at a methodic pace, in forward and reverse gear. VanDyke realized his mistake too late and his car succumbed to the excessive strain. Lagestee never missed the tire and proved slow-n-steady does indeed win races. War Machine looked like a formidable contender even in defeat.

Mean Green Machine vs Chicago Hitmen was awarded the Race of the Night last month. This time around, Mean Green dominated from start to finish. Hitmen dipped into rookie reserves with #25 David Stevenson coming over from JYD and #28 Brien Chancey from Full Throttle. Meanwhile, MGM bolstered their lineup with long-time Team Demo platoon man #10 Mark Van Allen (no direct relation to Zac and Jay). He lead the way with Jay not far behind as they both endured several hits from Janjanin and Berry. Pete Ryan and #16 Zac Van Allen stalked the infield, picked off the lingering Hitmen and headed towards a Finals rematch with Orange Crush.

Chaos ensued in the opening moments of the Finals. Turnbaugh and Fandrey struck first for Orange Crush with defensive tactics in Turn 1 on Zac and Mark Van Allen. #60 Dave Swan and #14 Jay Van Allen momentarily escaped towards Turn 3. Turnbaugh cut off Jay right at the Turn, but Zac regrouped and cross-tracked Turnbaugh in the driver’s side to free up his brother. Lagestee tried to push through the mess, but was caught in the road block. Suddenly, Mark Van Allen flew across the infield and leveled Swan with a huge hit!

Moments later, the behemoth Lincolns of Turnbaugh and Van Allen collided in a bone-rattling head-on impact causing major damage to both cars. Fandrey was pushed into the ruts by #17 Pete Ryan, Lagetee’s car wouldn’t budge and Swan’s steering was toast which gave Green a 4-on-1 advantage. Turnbaugh refused to give up and tormented Jay at every corner. Zac took over the run and Jay blocked in Turnbaugh on the front stretch to capture the win for Mean Green Machine. The race was a stark contrast from their confrontation at Round 1. This time, Mean Green shut down OC’s running power and offense in a matter of seconds and did not give them room to recover.

There is zero margin for error throughout the points standings. War Machine moved up one position and may be poised to break through at Round 3 on July 22nd. You can bet the bitter rivalry between “the big 2” of Orange Crush and Mean Green Machine is long from over with three more events in 2017.

A 'three-pete', pun-intended, for #30 Pete Morris as he picked up his third-straight Figure-8 Cars race win in the month of June. He takes over the points lead by a slim four-point margin ahead of last month's winner Steve Lempera whom finished 4th. #14 Casey Craig came out of nowhere and snagged 2nd place to move into the top three overall. 2016 Champion, #11 Rob Hess, has a serious uphill climb to defend the title. He sits in 6th place, 19 points behind Morris.

Steven Ogorman tamed the slick figure-8 track and powered through his opponents to capture his first-ever race victory! He now sits just two points behind #31 Dave Harris. #30 Pete Morris could not pull off the double win and finished in the runner-up spot for the second straight event. Those three drivers are jammed together at the top, separated by only three points. #11 Ryan Hoffman and #24 Mike Monferdini are tied in 4th place with a 17-point deficit.

Demolition Racing & Destruction returns to the Lake County Fair - July 26 and 30

The stars of Team Demolition Derby and local competitors invade the Lake County Fair in Grayslake, IL for two wild nights of destruction! Rules and Driver registration details are at WePromoteRacing.com and check out the 2016 photos for a glimpse of what you can expect! Both events are FREE with paid admission to the fair.